Rewards System to Promote Appropriate Behaviors

Goal is for the staff member to average 180 ACs /hr for all students assigned. All AC's are accompanied by a penny, point, and/or token reward.

Behaviors targeted are those on the recording sheet. Reward is given if target behavior was absent and student is acting appropriately at the time.

AC's are delivered in all environments with an enthusiastic, sincere, and soft tone of voice. The therapist pairs a penny, point, token, and/or physical contact of some type with every AC.

When administering any casual reward, therapist says something like " [student's name] good ____ {name of behavior] !" Therapists also give pennies, points, and/or tokens plus a form of attention that might function as a reward, such as a pat on back, high five, etc. Therapists should wear aprons that contain tokens and pennies. Pennies, points, and tokens are given out at all times.

2. DC (Decelerating Consequence) System (Penny, Point, Token Loss)

Each occurrence of a behavior targeted on the recording sheet is consequated with one mark on the recording sheet.

Behaviors targeted are the behaviors listed on the recording sheet and program description. These behaviors may be listed in the annual goals of the IEP/IHP/ISP. The behaviors targeted are also listed within the court-authorized treatment plan.

The consequence given may be in the form of a " verbal no ", verbal/physical redirection, or in some cases the behavior may be ignored. If a student is approved for court-authorized procedures, the consequence may include one or more of the following: GED, movement limitation, loss of menu food (contingent/specialized food), waterspray, etc. In conjunction, a loss of points, pennies, and/or tokens is implemented. At which time, a student may be placed on a loss of privilege status (LOP) that could vary from one minute for non-DRO behaviors to hours, days, or weeks for DRO behaviors. This involves loss of part of, or all of, the following daily reward opportunities: Reward Store, Field Day, activities, community outings, home visits, etc.

When administering a DC, the therapist says "[student's name] "No" [name of behavior]." When a DC is administered a mark is always recorded on the recording sheet. In addition, the therapist will deliver the consequence as determined by the student's clinician, treatment officer, and case manager listed on their individualized recording sheet/program description.

3. Point/Penny/Token Reward and Fine System

Points, pennies, and tokens are rewarded for each occurrence of appropriate behavior and fines are implemented for each occurrence of problematic targeted behaviors.

All positive and negative behaviors are rewarded or fined through the point/penny/token system.

Students have the opportunity to earn points or pennies for appropriate behaviors exhibited. Students earn pennies, points, and/or tokens for passing LTD, SPK, MTD, TRA, ON contracts. Students also earn pennies, points, and/or tokens for progress made in academics, programmed opportunities, and self management areas. Once earned, the student(s) will exchange their pennies, points, and/or tokens for rewards of their choice. If a student exhibits problematic inappropriate behavior a loss of points, pennies, or tokens will follow, leaving the student unable to purchase rewards.

Every student's program utilizes one or a combination of the point, penny, or token system 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.

4. Less-than-a Day (LTD) DROs*
*DRO: Differential Reinforcement of Other Behaviors. This is the contract system which rewards the absence of inappropriate behaviors, thus reinforcing the appropriate behaviors the student exhibits during the contract period.

Period of contract can vary from the completion of a task, which may only be 5 seconds, to 6 hours.

Behavior categories targeted are one or more of those on the recording sheet, academics, self management or other behavior(s).

Verbal praise and immediate reward of points, pennies or tokens is given upon passage of a contract. The student is then presented with a preferred reward such as a specified time at a preferred activity, preferred food or supergoodie, time with a preferred staff, etc. If a student has a court-approved treatment plan, menu food may be rewarded at this time through the contigent/specialized food program.

All students have a LTD contract which is individualized to their needs. If a LTD K is broken, the student is placed on LOP. Length of LOP time is determined for each student. A LTD K may be reset immediately once it is broken changing the LTD K times throughout the day or the student may need to wait until passage of their next scheduled contract to earn their rewards.

5. Special/Transport/Over-night contracts (SPC, TRA, ON) DROs

Period of contract can vary from a minute to several days.

Behavior categories targeted are one or more of those on the recording sheet, academics, self management or other behavior(s).

Verbal praise and immediate reward of points, pennies or tokens is given upon passage of a contract. The student is then presented with a preferred reward such as a specified time at a preferred activity, preferred food or supergoodie, time with a preferred staff, etc. If a student has a court approved treatment plan, menu food may be rewarded at this time through the contigent/specialized food program.

These are set contract times and once broken must wait until the next contract set time.

6. Multi-Day (MTD) DRO

Period of contract varies from 1 day to two weeks.

Behavior categories targeted are one or more of those on the recording sheet, academics, self management or other behavior(s).

Verbal praise and immediate reward of points, pennies, tokens, and/or a specific dollar amount is given upon passage of a contract. Student(s) exchanges their earnings for an item in the Contract Store or extra money for activities planned for the weekend. A preferred reward such as a specified time at a preferred activity, preferred food, time with a preferred staff, community outing, home visit, etc. may also be included. If a student has a court-approved treatment plan, fading the use of court-approved procedures may be rewarded upon passage of a number of contracts.

The student's clinician, case manager and treatment officer determines the length and reward of the contract. Passage of multiple contracts concurrently determines independence levels, movement into a less restrictive residence, and increased social/community opportunities.

7. Field Day (once per week)

For most students, passage of a MTD K is needed to gain entrance to Field Day (once per week). However, in some cases a student may need to only pass a LTD K to earn entrance.

Behavior categories targeted are one or more of those on the recording sheet, academics, self management or other behavior(s).

All activities associated with Field Day is contingent upon behavior. If a student is not earning field day they will eat Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches for lunch in a assigned LOP classroom. At which time, they must do his/her independent and less desirable academic work such as worksheets, etc. After the student(s) eat, they can choose from varied and changing reward activities such as arts and crafts, bike riding, basketball, movies, etc.

8. Field Trips

At least once per weekend.

Behavior categories targeted are one or more of those on the recording sheet, academics, self management or other behavior(s).

If student does not earn the field trip, he/she is left behind with staff at the residence or a LOP classroom. At which time, the student must do his/her independent and less desirable academic work such as worksheets, folding facecloths, etc

9. Home visits

Five non-contingent home visits (provided it is safe for staff and other students to transport) per year are provided. Any additional home visits are earned through the absence of targeted problematic behaviors or completion of their academic contract.

Behavior categories targeted are one or more of those on the recording sheet, academics, self management or other behavior(s).

Parent training is provided for all guardians prior to a home visit. Once training is accomplished, the family/guardian is urged to follow a simple/condensed version of the JRC individualized recording sheet while in the home environment. If a student exhibits a behavior or breaks their behavior contract while they are at home, the guardian will record the behavior by making a mark on the home recording sheet. Immediately following, the student will lose the reward contracted to them by the guardian. In addition, upon return to JRC, the student will receive a consequence (as determined by the clinician, case manager, and treatment department) for the exhibited behavior displayed at home. If the student behaves appropriately while at home, he/she will earn the reward agreed upon by the guardian, clinician, case manager, and treatment department.

There is a 90 day waiting period following admission before a student is eligible to go on a home visit (exceptions to this rule can be made, e.g. going home for Christmas). If a student is not able to go home due to behavior, guardian's request, or safety reasons, they may be moved to another residence (due to a closure of their residence) for the length of the scheduled visit in an effort to efficiently utilize our staffing resources. However, the behavior and educational program will continue to be followed.

General Notes

If a student breaks their MTD K he/she will automatically break all other smaller contracts, regardless of whether the behavior exhibited is not targeted in the other contracts. However, the student may continue to have the opportunity to earn smaller rewards throughout the day(s).

REWARD SYSTEMS TO PROMOTE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

9. Chapter Rewards

A student has task specific targets and aims that are set by the teacher. The student may pass multiple lessons during a week-long period or he/she may need several weeks to meet the set criteria.

Students are required to complete a chapter or lesson and achieve a designated rate correct/incorrect.

Students earn points or pennies as a reward for meeting or beating targets and aims that are set by the instructor. In addition, students may have Special Contracts related to academics. These contracts can be based on passing one or multiple chapters, depending upon the student. The student can earn rewards that include breaks, time in BRS, various food rewards, and selected items from JRC's Contract Store. If a student does not meet the academic aim for a particular day, he/she does not earn the specified amount of points or pennies.

Targets and aims are used with Precision Teaching Decks, Typing, Practice Mill, and any other task in which rate of correct and incorrect responses can be measured. Rewards are given only if student demonstrates proficiency in a timing monitored by a special monitor.

The student is required to answer a specific number of questions correctly on the touchscreen programs. Students may remain on a specified lesson for days or weeks.

When a student works on a teacher-assigned task, he/she must point to and touch the appropriate answer on the screen. The student must answer a specified number of questions correctly in order to be rewarded.

The student chooses a reward from "Reward Menu" that is presented to him/her. The "Reward Menu" can be varied from student to student to target those items that he/she may find most rewarding. The student must attempt to ask or sign for the reward of choice in a full sentence ("I would like some M&M's, please") if they are able to do so. If the student is not able to ask/sign in a complete sentence, he/she should use a short phrase ("M&M's please"). Minimally, the student should point to the reward of choice that is presented to him/her on the touchscreen. The student will then recieve the reward and then return to the assigned task.

One goal of the student asking for the reward chosen from the "Reward Menu" through speech or sign is to improve these skills. Not only do we want the student to improve general communication skills, but we want the student to be able to ask as appropriately as he/she can for an item. Another issue that sometimes arises is students destroying computer equipment. If a student becomes aggressive or destructive, or shows other major problem behaviors, he/she is not allowed to use the computer until he/she is behaving appropriately.